1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus for distributing contents by proxy, an apparatus for distributing contents, its control method, a program and a system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a home appliance network system, a DLNA guideline has been proposed in order to enable mutual use of contents (image, video image, etc.) between appliances. DNLA is an abbreviation of digital living network alliance (http://www.dlna.org/).
In the DLNA guideline, a digital media server (DMS) for distributing a network service and a digital media player (DMP) for receiving the network service are defined.
The network service is a service in which, for example the DMS distributes contents (image data or video image data) to the DMP and the DMP acquires contents from the DMS.
In the DLNA, a network service is mainly executed using a protocol defined by UPnP™. UPnP™ is an abbreviation of universal plug and play.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-134967 discusses a configuration in which the DMP acquires contents using information notified by the DMS. More specifically, when the DMS is connected to a network, the DMS notifies the DMP of metadata containing a uniform resource locator (URL) which indicates the location of contents using a protocol defined by the UPnP™. The DMP accesses the URL which indicates the location of contents, thereby acquiring contents.
Further, a portable device such as a digital camera with such a function of the DMS has also appeared.
However, when the portable device having a poor computer resource functions as a distribution apparatus (DMS), high-value-added processing such as sorting or retrieval type request processing needs to be executed. Further, when the distribution apparatus is frequently accessed from an external apparatus, a power consumption is increased.
Furthermore, even if the portable device has a function as the distribution apparatus, the contents may not be distributed because a user of the portable device frequently switches on and off a power source and an operation mode.